KYLE 08.03.18

People who believe they are not exercising enough are more likely to suffer the consequences of inactivity whether or not they are sedentary, while those who believe they are active are more likely to be healthy even if they aren’t working out, according to new Stanford University research. The findings suggest that mental states play a key role in healthfulness to the point that the placebo effect might improve fitness.

Most people know that not exercising enough is bad for your health, but most people do not know that thinking you are not exercising enough can also harm your health.

Zahrt and Stanford psychology professor Alia Crum has shown that hotel maids’ health improved — they lost weight, for example — when they realized that their jobs afforded them the physical exercise they needed.

For those who were healthier simply because they felt like they exercised plenty, they might be responding to the placebo effect. “Not only do placebo effects exist with medications — if you take a pill and believe it’s going to help you, it’s going to help you more — but the exact same could be happening with behavior,” said Zahrt.

On the other hand, people who don’t believe they are exercising enough might suffer from stress, anxiety and depression because of the comparisons they are drawing between themselves and people around them. Whether or not they are active enough would be irrelevant to those people.

400 years ago, poet John Milton talked about this in “Paradise lost”:

“The mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven,”

He asserted a “mind over matter” philosophy by stating that the mind, independently functioning, has the power to transcend circumstances and lead to a happy life regardless of circumstances as well as the power to descend to horrible circumstances and lead to a life of misery.

OTB182315 Satan Smitten by Michael, from Book VI of ‘Paradise Lost’ by John Milton (1608-74) engraved by Antoine Alphee Piaud, c.1868 (engraving) by Dore, Gustave (1832-83) (after); Private Collection; French, out of copyright

According to Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., you can break free from limiting thoughts and open up possibilities for success throughout your life through your mindset.

People who have a fixed mindset believe they lost the genetic lottery and, therefore, have little incentive to work hard. Why bother to put in a little effort to build something if you have convinced yourself you are terrible at it?

Don’t let a fixed mindset hold you back from what you’re capable of. Just because some people seem naturally good at something, does not mean others can’t do it. In fact, others can do it sometimes even better with training.

In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail — or if you’re not the best — it’s all been wasted.

For growth-mindset people, no matter the outcome of your efforts; even when things don’t go as planned, you still win. This is because there is always a lesson in the journey that will help you grow and become a much stronger and more inspiring person.

“Becoming is better than being” – Dweck.

Time for some weekly favorites!

Favorite album of the week: Ultraviolet – Justine Skye.

Found out about this yesterday through a Zachary Campbell video that I’m gonna link below.